Secrets
by CaitlinWalker
Summary: What was in that file Henry Wilcox gave Annie? Secrets are uncovered and lives are in danger. Annie finds herself torn between the job and the man she loves. My take on how S4 starts.
1. Chapter 1

Kitten heels.

Auggie rolled over, reaching for his watch that always resided on his bedside cabinet. Touching nothing but air, his sleep-addled brain finally began to compute. This wasn't his bed and it sure as well wasn't his house. Those heels that clicked sharply against floorboards belonged to the house's owner. They belonged to the woman he'd spent last night with, after he took that chance and showed up at her door. The culmination of building up three years' worth of courage to have that talk.

"Annie?" He called out groggily. He didn't need his watch to tell him that it was still early.

"Hey, Auggie." He could hear a smile in her voice.

"What time is it?"

There was a second where she checked it for herself, then reported back to him. "Five-fifteen."

Auggie sank back into his pillow. "Now I always knew that you were keen. But seriously Annie? There's early mornings and then there's this. Come back to bed."

He felt the mattress bounce as she crawled next to him. But he knew wouldn't be staying for long. "Auggie," she stroked his cheek. "Last night…last night was great. I truly mean that. But other things happened last night. Things I can't ignore."

Auggie pushed himself up, propping himself up with the leather headboard, which was cold against his bare back. His heart felt ready to sink. "Annie…I really hope you're not going to tell me that last night was nothing. It didn't feel like nothing to me."

She took his hand. "No, no." She sounded embarrassed that he jumped to that conclusion. "Auggie, last night felt right. Completely and utterly right."

Auggie smiled, relieved. "Good. You just had me worrying there. After all, I doubt the sun is even up and it seems to me that you were all ready to walk out on me. Leaving me in your own house, which is, admittedly, strange in its own right."

"C'mon Auggie…it's not as if you're some strange man that'd rob my house."

"Of course not. I'm a respected member of society." He frowned, dissecting her comment. "How often do you go with strange men?"

"Never." She said that a little too quickly. "Okay, technically Ben was a stranger when we met…"

"Wait." He held up a finger. "You were going to leave me, weren't you?"

"Um…"

"Annie Walker! Leaving a blind man in a strange house…that's bordering on cruelty."

"I would've made it up to you…I just need to go see someone. Like, right now."

Auggie frowned. He would have deemed it odd behaviour but then he remembered. Annie Walker was not a normal woman who held down a nine to five job. She was a CIA operative. A shady occupation at best, the job lived up to clichés and stereotypes. Meeting people whilst the rest of the world slept was commonplace. "Fine…I'll wait here for you. Just try not to get yourself of trouble. You know, like you always seem to do."

Annie planted a kiss on his lips. "I won't. I'll be back before you even know it."

As Auggie nestled back under the covers, Annie took advantage of his disability for the first and, hopefully, the only time as she dug out the manila coloured file that Henry Wilcox gave her last night. She hoped it'd be the only time. She wanted to leave Auggie out of this as much as she possibly could.

She had waited so long to get him. She didn't want him to get hurt.


	2. Chapter 2

Pulling up the kerb and killing the engine, Annie had to double check that this was the right place. The all-night diner was a stone's throw away from Langley, a few minutes in the car. Maybe that old adage was right. Maybe things did happen right under your nose.

Parked across the road, a good twenty feet between her car and the diner, Annie felt safe enough. Safe enough to keep an eye on proceedings and safe enough not to get caught. Henry Wilcox's file came laced with stark warnings. Warnings not to get involved.

Then why the hell was she here?

Annie checked the clock on the dash. It was five minutes to six. Five minutes until things kicked off. But her contact should've been here by now. The latter was less important, though. The diner had her full attention.

In the unspoken competition between the targets and her contact, her contact won. Hopping in the back seat, Annie met Liza Hearn's gaze in the rear-view mirror.

"Are you Annie Walker?"

Annie nodded. "I am. I don't need to ask you to know who you are. Let's just say you have a bit of a reputation among the CIA."

"And yet you've agreed to meet me. If you want an honest opinion, you're going to end up with a similar reputation if you work with Henry Wilcox too."

"Who says I'm working for him?"

Liza scoffed. "Oh c'mon, Agent Walker. Why else would you be here? You're doing his dirty work…you're spying on your own people."

Annie stopped drumming the steering wheel with her finger. "My own people?"

Liza smiled. "Why else do you think you're here?"

"I'm here out of curiosity. You'd better be too. If this is for another one of your slandering pieces, I'm out. My name does not get mentioned and, thus, my career remains intact. Deal?"

"If this was for an article, it'd be a deal. But I'm not here for another scandal – I've got enough plaudits. I'm here on behalf of Henry too."

"Ok then. That's fine." Annie's eyes narrowed as she saw a black sedan pull up to the diner. "Heads up. This looks promising."

A man in an overcoat came out, baseball cap pulled over tight curls and a rough beard. Tall, he had a familiar look about him. Annie snapped a few shots on her phone before he quickly disappeared. The pictures would not be perfect but they'd do. His eyes. She knew them but she couldn't put them to an owner.

She rested her phone on her lap. "So, how much do you know about this? My own people? Who is involved in this?"

Again Liza Hearn smiled. She knew much more than she was ever going to let on. "You read the file…read between the lines."

Read between the lines. That was what Annie was afraid of. The file would never hold up as evidence. It was not an official CIA document. But it contained information that whilst later proven, could take down the Director of Clandestine Services. It could take down Arthur Campbell.

Arthur Campbell, the man who was walking down the sidewalk. The man who was heading into the diner. Annie had never believed in coincidences.

She took a few photos, and then sighed as she slumped into the seat. "Is Arthur in on this?"

Liza reached for the handle, the door clicking open. "How would I know? I know as much as you do."

Annie felt like smacking her head of the steering wheel and heading home, curling up with Auggie back in bed. But things were never that simple. Henry Wilcox, at best an unpredictable son of a bitch, had told her the meeting was at six am, at Gaslight's Diner. He had specifically outlined in that file those details along with the times of the targets' arrivals. The chances of Arthur Campbell turning up by chance here and now were slim. Plus, it was Arthur Campbell and he never seemed the sort of man to eat at a greasy spoon.

Something was going down. Was Arthur really double-dealing with foreign agencies as the file suggested? Selling classified materials that should never even leave Langley? Even Annie, who felt as though she was drowning in the unknown, knew it didn't look good.

It was only twenty minutes later until the director emerged. He kept his head down, shoving a newspaper under his arm. The newspaper was new – it was probably a decoy, hiding whatever his contact had given him.

Annie turned the ignition; sliding her foot to the gas as man number two came out and jumped into his black four door. She didn't need to tail Arthur and she didn't want to. But she felt she had to follow his breakfast guest, whoever the hell he was.

She followed the basic tailing policy. Traffic was light, the daily rush hour only an hour away. Keeping at least two cars spaces behind, changing lanes every now and then and using the occasional car as cover, she never once got closer than those two car spaces. One thing that Annie noticed was that he hadn't looped back on himself, heading to an entirely different place than he had come from.

After ten minutes, he pulled into an industrial estate. Annie parked around the corner of the derelict looking warehouse, out of sight. Hopping out, mindful that her Louboutins were not best suited to the uneven surface created by the gravel, she watched her steps. Pressing her body up against the brick wall, she peered around only to see the heavy metal door slam shut.

It was worth a look. She had come this far after all, a highly reckless and unorthodox move. Unorthodox. A year ago, she was the strict by-the-book CIA operative. Then things happened –Lena Smith came into her life and made Annie see some things were done better if you didn't follow a darn textbook. Even if the woman did turn on her and tried to kill her, killing Simon in the process, she showed her that reckless and unorthodox did work.

Besides, how many times did an opportunity like this arrive?

Reaching for her holster fastened to her belt, she removed her Chiappa Rhino 20DS. Grasping it in her hand, keeping her aim steady at the ground as she took measured steps. She took a deep breath before she tried the door. If it was locked, she might as well go home and spend some time with Auggie.

It was unlocked.

Adrenaline began to kick in her veins, the usual thrill of nerves and excitement. Annie loved moments like this. This was how working for the CIA should feel.

Entering the cold warehouse, dust flecks visible in the thin ray of light entering through the open door. Annie slipped in, gently shutting the door behind her. Near blind in the darkness, she kept one arm steady with the gun; the other ran along the brick wall to the side of her to keep her right.

She had only taken a few steps before she heard breathing. Spinning around on her heels, something came down hard on her arm. Her gun went flying out of her hand. She reacted quickly, throwing her arms up to defend herself. She blocked a few blows aimed at her head and abdomen. But in the near pitch black, she was unable to defend herself from a leg sweep.

Hitting her head off the concrete, a heavy boot was forced upon her neck. Pinned and vulnerable, she sighed and raised her hands up. Her chances were too slim to fight.

Her attacker seemed to dig out something from his overcoat, the shuffling audible in the still silence. A flashlight clicked on, lighting up both her face and the face of the man she followed. Annie gasped, she was right. Those eyes were all too familiar. The face was painfully too.

"Annie?"


	3. Chapter 3

She held her head in her hands as she knelt on the bathroom floor. Stomach doing somersaults, she was too lightheaded to pick herself up and go back to bed.

Too lightheaded and too shocked.

Joan Campbell wished her husband was there. She needed him to hold her and she needed him to know.

She had woken up, feeling a sudden bout of nausea, only to find Arthur gone. Normally that would have been odd. But she was married to a CIA director, a man who had been a spy for the last twenty odd years of his life. She was used to him disappearing. Seldom would she question him. However, the past few weeks, he'd been disappearing more often. Her only comfort came from the fact that Arthur was a big man and he could take care of himself in this shady life. After all he had to. Not just for him and not just for her but because of the news that had both come completely out of the blue but was not at all surprising.

She sat on the cold linoleum until Arthur finally returned. He was trying to be silent, taking great care to not bang the front door shut but ultimately failing. The floorboards gave their usual creak at the third and seventh steps and she heard him shuffle toward the bedroom. He must have stopped upon seeing the empty bed.

Only a couple of metres away from him, in the ensuite, Joan softly called out for her husband. "Arthur?"

He followed her voice, gently nudging the door open. His face fell. "Honey are you OK?"

Joan lifted up the two strips of plastic, holding them out for him to see. She smiled. "We did it, Arthur. You're going to be a father."

Arthur's features suddenly transformed. His worry evaporated being replaced by sheer, unadulterated joy. He scooped Joan up in his arms. "You don't know how much this means to me. We're going to be a family…just like we've always wanted."

Joan nodded, smiling. "It's going to be perfect. But Arthur, sweetie? If you don't put me down this instance, it won't just be a baby that'll be throwing up over your shoulder soon, ok?"

Auggie made a complete turn in his swivel chair. Patience could only last so long. "C'mon Barber, I may be blind but I'm not deaf. I don't hear typing. Start typing."

There was a sharp knock on the open glass door of Auggie's private office. He was close enough to smell the cherry scented perfume that a certain operative favoured. "Annie Walker…nice of you to finally join me."

Annie rested her hand on his shoulder and spoke in a hushed tone to reduce the chance of Barber's prying ears hearing. "Sorry Auggie…but you got my call, didn't you?"

"Remember what I said about cruelty to blind men?" Auggie didn't hear fingers dancing along a keyboard. "I told you. Type!"

"I'm sorry, Auggie. Am I interrupting something?"

"Nothing important. Barber there is just installing some software that isn't blind man friendly." He tilted his head up Annie. "Maybe it was created by you?"

Annie rubbed his back. "I'm really sorry Auggie. Something came up."

"Came up how?" Auggie reached for her hand.

"Whoa," Barber cried. "Annie, what the hell happened to your neck?"

Auggie head shot between Annie and Barber, a habit he hadn't managed to shake after all these years of being blind. "What…is he talking about? Annie, are you OK?"

There was an awkward lull and Auggie felt there were some silent communication going on that he couldn't see. It was times like this he really hated his disability. Finally, Annie spoke but a little too fast for his liking. She was rambling. "I feel really stupid for this…but I fell. You know you get all these warnings about wearing six inch heels and, you know, you think you've mastered the art of balancing but then you fall. On the edge of a table. In front of an audience."

Auggie slowly nodded. He didn't buy it for a second. Spies are always the best judge as to whether or not someone is lying – they do it for a living. But he knew better than to push. He didn't want to push her away. When she first came from the farm, she had that emotional baggage that took a long time to move. It took her time to open up to him – three years to be exact. He didn't want to lose that – even if it hurt him because she was hurting. "Typical Walker…can't walk in kitten heels. You get that? Clever pun on your name."

"Yeah, Anderson. You're a real comedian. Anyway, have either of you seen Joan this morning?"

Barber beat Auggie to the punch. "Called in sick."

"Really? Joan Campbell called in sick?"

Auggie relaxed back in his chair, although his mind was far from relaxed. "Yep. Strange, don't you think?"

"Very. I can't recall her ever taking a day off."

Auggie raised a finger. "I do. Jury duty back in June a few years back. If you remember correctly, you were away in Paris whilst I had to hold down the fort."

"Jury service? I think I vaguely remember that…I just can't imagine Joan on the jury."

Auggie sat forward. "You don't remember. Annie, the woman spent the next week complaining about it. To quote the woman herself, "they took my damn phone" and "who the hell does that judge think she is?""

Annie's voice lightened in realisation. "Actually, I think I do remember –."

"Agent Walker." Annie, Auggie and Barber's heads all turned in the direction of the voice booming from the bullpen. Auggie was certain he heard Annie gulp before Arthur uttered the words you rarely wanted to hear from a CIA director. "A word please."

Annie's legs felt like jelly as she walked behind Arthur, neither one of them saying a word. They took the elevator up to his office in silence and Annie wondered about the possibility that her legs could fail her and she really would topple over in her six inch heels. There could be a magnitude of reasons why the Director of Clandestine Services wanted to talk to her. He could be filling in for his wife who was ill. He could want her working on a special op. Maybe he really wanted to have a word with her and they'd sit for an hour, discussing current affairs whilst having a nice cup of tea.

Yeah, right. Her mind kept circling back to one, very real possibility. He knew about this morning.

Arthur didn't even return a good morning to his personal assistant who sat right outside his office door. Annie was not getting good vibes here. Arthur Campbell looked like a soldier all set for an attack. Annie sure as hell hoped she wouldn't be the victim.

He let Annie enter first, so he could lock the door behind him. He didn't offer her a seat, nor did he use his own either. He walked over to the large window to study the sprawling forest. After a few uncomfortable minutes, he turned around to face her, arms folded against his chest.

"Miss Walker, I couldn't help but wonder. You drive a Volkswagen Golf Mk4 don't you? In a lovely vibrant red colour, am I correct?"

Annie was torn between answering and not. Either way, she figured, it would be pointless. He did know.

"Tell me, Miss Walker, am I right in thinking that one of the basic principles of espionage is to be discreet? 'Cause if you think staking out a building, sitting in such a noticeable car is a great example of espionage, then you, my dear, are truly well mistaken."

Annie bit down on her tongue and let him continue.

"Why were you there this morning? Why were you following me?"

Then Annie couldn't hold back anymore. And she didn't care who she was talking to, director or not. She needed answers. "Why didn't you tell me that Simon Fischer is still alive?"


	4. Chapter 4

_2 Hours Ago…_

"Simon?" Annie gasped, barely able to breathe let alone speak, under the pressure applied by her former lover's boot. "Whats-?"

"What's going on?" He stepped off her neck, offering a hand to pull her back to her feet.

Annie dusted herself off and tilted her head quizzically at the man Lena Smith supposedly had murdered. The man she thought she'd never see again. "Yeah."

He placed a hand on her forearm, still holding the torch in the other. "Annie, I wish I could explain. I really do but it's -."

This time Annie cut him off. "Classified? That's bull." She shrugged off his touch, taking a step back from him. "I thought you were dead."

"Yeah, well that's what they wanted you to think."

Her lips formed the start of a word but nothing came out. There were too many things she wanted to say and to ask. Up until a few moments ago, Simon Fischer was dead in her mind. All the tears she had cried over his murder had long dried. It took her time but she had gotten over him, getting revenge and justice by killing Lena along the way. Now everything she knew, everything she thought she knew, had been ripped away viciously from her. What could she say?

"Annie, look I know this is probably really weird for you…you're shocked, I understand. But I've got to tell you…all of this…it was never my decision."

"All of what?" She snapped back. She didn't know what to feel, so she settled on angry for the time being and was going to see how that would pan out. "Simon, you're talking in riddles to me. Stuff all of this classified nonsense…give me the truth right now or I go, right now, to the Director of National Intelligence and tell him all about your and Arthur Campbell's little meeting this morning." His face changed, his deep creases on his forehead forming sharp angles. "I knew it. Henry Wilcox was right…Arthur's up to something."

Anger flickered across Simon's face. "You wouldn't do that."

"You really wanna bet? Start talking or I will."

Again Simon reached for Annie and again, she refused to let him touch her. He sighed. "Annie, don't you trust me? You have to trust me on this, I swear. I loved you Annie and believe me when I say that I didn't want to have to leave you."

Annie felt a pang in her heart. She remembered feeling the same – loving him, only to have her heart broken when he was "killed". "Tell me something, Simon. That night when you were "murdered" by Lena…was I meant to die that night?"

Simon shook his head and this time it was his turn to back away. He turned away, avoiding meeting her eyes. Annie found her answer.

"You knew they were going to try to kill me? If you loved me, like you claim you do, why would you leave me for dead?"

Simon was breathing heavily, his shoulders heaving up and down in rapid movements.

"I'm not leaving until you answer me. Why did you let Lena try to kill me?"

He muttered his response, barely audible but she caught his answer. "'Cause I'm KGB. Just like Lena was. What? You never saw it coming? Wake up Annie. Lena was using me to get intel from you, just like she told you to get intel from me. You were nothing but a pawn but you were important in everything. You made her look credible to the CIA and they never expected a thing. It just would have been much less complicated we hadn't fell in love. You probably would've been dead within a week."

Annie frowned. She had every reason to not believe a single word that he said. But what he had said was raw, stripped to the bones as his emotions spilled out. He was telling the truth. Yet there was still something missing. "Why were you meeting with Arthur?"

Simon shook his head and began to head to the door. "If I were you I'd leave it now whilst you still have the chance."

"So that's it now? You lured me down here and now you're done? I want answers."

He turned around briefly before he left the warehouse. "If you dare try to follow me, I will kill you."

_Now…_

Arthur paced the length of his pinewood desk. "Agent Walker, you are aware that I could fire you right now?"

Annie found the audacity to scoff at the director's threat. Events had put things into perspective. Things had changed. She had a right to be pissed. "Could you, Arthur? What have I done wrong? Sit outside a diner? Visit an empty warehouse? Last time I checked those were not crimes and they sure as hell weren't sackable offences."

"I'd watch your tone -."

"Or what? You fire me? Get someone to try to kill me again?"

Arthur shook his head, his voice rising in volume. "You really think that I'd try to kill off one of my operatives?"

Now it was Annie's turn to fold her arms against her chest. "I don't know what to think right now. But there's one thing that I do know and that it's not looking good for you right now. Simon told me he was KGB as was Lena."

"I am aware of that, yes."

"And yet you meet with him. You personally and you have a cosy chat with him, something which Henry Wilcox says is not that uncommon."

"Henry Wilcox?" Arthur repeated the name, with less disbelief and more anger. "Henry Wilcox? What the hell has that son of bitch got to with anything?" He wagged an accusing finger. "That was it. That was how you knew. Are you working with him?"

"Irrelevant. Completely and utterly irrelevant. The real question here is about you. What are you not telling me about Simon Fischer?"

Again, Arthur shook his head. "No. I'm not discussing this with you."

"You know what? Someone once told me, "The truth is complicated." You know who said that? Ben Mercer, a man in my life who also vanished with not so much as a word to me. I've been out in the field for nearly four years, putting this agency and this country first. And what do I get? Lies, secrets and bullshit. I don't deserve any of this. Screw clearance levels and screw protocol. What you're doing seems to be a dirty little secret, off the book. Clearance and protocol doesn't apply to what you're doing. Let me in on this."

Arthur stared at her, his expression not changing from earlier. He pointed at the door. "Get out. Now. You're on indefinite leave until I say when you can dare show your face. And a heads up. Within thirty minutes of you leaving this place, you will be tailed, your house will be watched and your calls will be monitored. You try to talk to that rat Wilcox and you'll find yourself in Guantanamo, crime or no crime. Understood?"

Annie shrugged her shoulders and headed to the door. Arthur had lost it. He had something to hide and everything to lose. Now she, someone who'd respected and trusted the man, was an enemy. His secret was huge and it had the potential to change everything.

There was a series of raps on the door before Annie got there. Annie twisted the key and the door threw open, Joan bursting into the room.

Arthur changed into a completely different person. "Honey, honey. What's the matter? There's no need for you to be running like this."

"For God's sake, Arthur. I'm pregnant, I'm not terminally ill."

Annie, compelled by the drama unfolding, blinked. Did she really just hear that? Was Joan Campbell pregnant?

Joan reached for the remote for the thirty inch plasma TV, mounted on the wall. "I take it you haven't heard."

"Heard what?" Arthur leaned back on the edge of his desk, curiously watching his wife fiddle with the remote.

"Exactly. Thought so." Joan flicked the screen on.

There was no need to change the channel. Annie couldn't help but take a step back from the doorway to peer at the yellow ticker that displayed the breaking news.

Arthur stared at the screen and muttered. "Well I'll be damned."


	5. Chapter 5

"It is with the deepest regrets that Channel 6 today reports the death of our esteemed colleague and friend, Liza Hearn. Miss Hearn, who wrote award-winning articles exposing CIA secrets, was gunned down this morning, in broad daylight, whilst on-air discussing the scandal at the corporate banking group, Holder & Sons. Eyewitnesses are currently being interviewed by police and video footage is also being examined, but early reports suggest it was a targeted attack, carried out by a sniper. They are still looking for suspects. Details at this present moment are, of course, uncertain but we will keep you up to date with the latest news as it comes in."

It was Joan who said what everyone else was thinking. "Who the hell would want Liza Hearn dead?"

Arthur looked at his wife but he saw her looking to him for answers. "Who wouldn't? She's pissed off enough people in her time."

Joan frowned. "No, I get that. But whoever did this, killing her on national television…sniper shot…there's killing and then there's killing to make a point."

"I know." Arthur saw Annie staring at him, out of the corner of his eye. Truth be told, he had thought she had left. She was being unusually quiet. "Annie, go home. Now. I don't want you anywhere near me. Especially after this."

Joan's eyes shifted between Arthur and Annie. "What's going on here?"

Arthur straightened his suit jacket as he stood back up. "Nothing. Just a little misunderstanding to which Annie needs time to get her head sorted. Isn't that right, Annie?"

Annie didn't reply and didn't move. She was frozen but there was an icicle of a word on her lips.

"Annie? If you have something to say, say it. Then go. Take time off."

Annie blinked and swallowed hard. "I saw Liza this morning…she was in the car with me."

Joan looked puzzled but Arthur wasn't. "What? Liza was with you?"

"Yes."

"Wait, what's going on here? What has Annie got to do with Liza Hearn? Arthur, if she was meeting with a CIA operative just before her murder, with her past relationship with the CIA, it doesn't look good."

His wife was right. It didn't look good. It had never had a rosy outlook in the beginning. This was just another obstacle that complicated an already complicated situation. "Annie, was why Liza with you this morning?"

Annie screwed up her face as she spoke, knowing it was the wrong answer. "Henry Wilcox."

"Wilcox?" Joan's eyes widened. "I've been away for what? All of two hours and Liza Hearn is dead and that rat, Henry Wilcox, is somehow back in the picture? I can't leave this place for one goddamn second."

Arthur ignored her comments, pressing on with what Annie had just admitted. He could fill Joan in later, if he ever wanted to. "So, Wilcox sent you to spy on me. Did he send Hearn too?"

"I-I-I don't know?" The last word was twisted into a question as Annie again looked for a suitable answer. "She said something about him telling her. She claimed it was, and I quote, "curiosity" and that it wasn't for any sort of article."

Arthur shook his head. "She could've claimed all she wanted. I smell bullshit."

"I'm sorry, but what the hell is going on here?" Joan's voice boomed in the office as she took a step between the director and the field agent. "Liza Hearn is killed today and you," she pointed to Annie, "you say you met her this morning to spy on you," she pointed at her husband, "who mysteriously snuck out of our house sometime this morning. I think some clarification or some context is needed here. And this tension I'm sensing between you pair? Cut it the hell out and grow up, for god's sake,"

Arthur remained silent, knowing if he waited long enough, he wouldn't have to speak. He was right.

"Look Joan, I don't know what the hell is happening here either," Annie began. "But something is. Your husband here met with Simon Fischer this morning."

"Simon Fischer is alive?"

"You didn't know either? Well, trust me, he is. I met him this morning. And guess what? He's KGB."

Joan echoed Annie. "KGB? Alive? The hell are you not telling me, Arthur Winchester Campbell? Why are you sneaking out of our house, before the sun is even up, to meet with a KGB spy who is supposed to be dead?"

Arthur didn't know where to start, so he didn't bother. He fobbed them off with a lousy excuse. "I can't tell you that. You don't have the clearance."

"Clearance? I'm your wife, Arthur and the mother of your unborn child. Grow up, grow a pair and start to tell me the truth."

"It's complicated."

"I've heard that before," muttered Annie.

"Fine, you know what? If you're not going to tell me then don't. Try to tell me how Liza Hearn, now deceased, figures out in all of this."

Arthur found himself unable to, so he formed a new approach to get the answer that would appease his wife. "What time was Hearn killed at?"

"About a half hour ago." Joan replied without hesitation.

"Good. Police will be busy securing the area and checking with witnesses for the next hour or so. Annie?" Annie looked up from the ground at Arthur's call. "Go to Liza Hearn's apartment and search the place. Find something that connects her or incriminates her with everything that's happened this morning. And bring it back if there is anything. Leave no stone unturned. You've got a couple of hours before the police start knocking. Understand?"

Annie raised an eyebrow. "I thought I was on leave…"

"Well, I'm giving you a reprieve. Go there and check the place out. And you," he looked at his wife. "Go home and get some rest. You may not be terminally ill but you look awful."

"I love you too," Joan muttered under her breath as she turned to leave with the field agent.

Arthur waited until a few seconds after the door had clicked shut before he buried his head in his hands and let out a big sigh. Liza Hearn hadn't paid attention to all the warnings of getting involved. A single trace of evidence that linked him to any of the secret rendezvous over the past few weeks would ensure that he'd never see his unborn child, except in heaven. However, the more he thought of it now, hell would be more appropriate for all that he had done.

He would have been as blind as Auggie Anderson, if he hadn't seen Liza Hearn following him the past few weeks. Blind if he hadn't seen those blackmail letters sent by her and blind if he hadn't saw her when he met with her yesterday.

Right now, hell seemed a much more pleasant option.

The chatter was buzzing around the bullpen. If Auggie was so inclined, he'd go over and ask someone what was up. But he wasn't. He sat at Annie's desk, gently swaying in her chair. Waiting for her.

She'd been upstairs for some time. In that time, he'd formed a mental image of her desk as he couldn't even find a place to rest a hand. Cluttered and messy, with a foul smelling breakfast burrito balanced on top of the keyboard. Foul tasting too – he'd learned that the hard way.

Annie's heels could be heard from miles away. Sharp, growing louder quickly. He rose from the chair as he heard her come to a stop. "In a hurry Walker?"

"Very much so," she brushed against his arm as she reached for something on her desk. Something quite far away, no doubt her car keys. "Did- did you eat my burrito?"

"Yes and it was disgusting." He took hold of her arm before she tried to speed away. "Hey, what's the rush?"

Metal jingled as Annie fiddled with her keys. "Liza Hearn is dead."

"She-she's dead?" He shouldn't have been surprised, what with a list of enemies longer than a country mile, but it took him off guard. "And that's your concern why?"

"It's not. But it's Arthur's."

Still? Auggie had thought that issue had long been dealt with. "Any idea why? Past history aside, of course. Take it she was killed?"

"Sniper. Live TV. On a street about ten minutes from here. Either Arthur sees it as his civic duty to investigate or it doesn't look good."

"Sheesh. So where are you going?"

"Liza Hearn's apartment. Yep, I know. It doesn't look good does it? Breaking and entering into a dead woman's apartment whilst her body is still warm. And I don't know what for."

Auggie grabbed his cane. "Right, I'm coming."

Annie pushed him back into the chair. "Oh no, you're not. I'm suspecting Arthur wants this done on the sly. As few people involved as possible. So no, mister, you are not coming."

Auggie got back up and shrugged his shoulders. "Excuse me, but due to CIA related ventures, I have first-hand experience of that woman's apartment. And besides, it's not like I'm going to see anything incriminating, is it?"

Annie sighed reluctantly, letting Auggie know he'd won. "Fine. C'mon then, before the police show up and we're arrested."

"Good." Auggie took Annie's arm, before he pressed on to why he was really waiting at her desk, just minutes ago. "Because we need to talk."


	6. Chapter 6

Annie tapped a beat on the steering wheel, giving Auggie some time to digest what she had just said. Shocked, he had been rendered mute. For Auggie Anderson, that was quite something. "You still with me? Did you actually hear what I said?"

Auggie slowly turned his head, his forehead crinkled up in a frown of confusion. "It depends. Did you really say that Joan Campbell is pregnant?"

Annie snorted. "That was exactly my reaction too."

"But…but Joan?" Auggie laughed too. "Man, that kid is going to have some life."

"You're telling me," Annie remarked, making a sharp right at the lights.

"I mean, the offspring of not just one but two extremely well-respected CIA operatives…you are aware that the kid will have a higher clearance level than you the second it's born. And, a word of warning, they'll be after your job the second they turn five."

Annie was feared to laugh. It could well be true.

"Gives you food for thought doesn't it? I always thought it'd be supercomputers and robots making us useless, not the Campbell child…ha." Auggie paused then said. "Annie…do you want kids?"

Annie tore her eyes away from the road, blood rushing to her cheeks. "What? Wait, what? Is that what you wanted to talk about?"

"No, no, no." He raised his palms up. "But, jeez. Calm down a second. It was just a topical question and if you don't want to answer right now…or ever, don't."

Annie let out a sigh of relief, turning back to the road. Grateful that she did, as she had just enough time to stomp down on the brakes to avoid smashing into the tailgate of the pickup truck in front. "It's just not something I've ever seriously considered, Auggie. I mean I love kids. Danielle's kids say I'm their favourite auntie."

Auggie smiled. "That's cute but I'm pretty sure you've said how you were their only auntie…"

Annie bit down on her lip. "Irrelevant but anyway, children are certainly not high on my priorities right now. Especially since we've…you know?"

"Only just got together? Yeah that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

She nodded. She knew full well what he wanted to talk about. It was the only thing that had been on her mind since they had left Langley. Right now, she didn't even care about the whole mess Arthur was embroiled in. The thought that she might be in danger, like Liza Hearn, hadn't passed her mind either. Call it selfish but she didn't care. She just wanted to know how things stood for her and Auggie.

"Now, I know we briefly touched upon this earlier but it wasn't enough. I need to know, Annie, if this is going to be worthwhile."

"Yes. It is, Auggie. You're what I want."

"And I want you too, Annie. But I also want what we had, that friendship, to last. And if there is even the slightest possibility we could lose that, I don't know if we should go ahead with all this."

Annie took his hand, for the amount of time she could before she had to focus back on the road. "I don't want to lose that either. For the first couple of months at Langley, you were the only person I could trust. Joan was always on my ass and then there was Jai who just wanted to touch my ass. But there was you and you always looked out for me. You made me feel safe and welcome. You were always there for me and I will always be grateful for that. This, whatever we can classify ourselves as right now, feels natural. It feels right."

He smiled. "It does for me too. You know, if I'm being honest, I always had my eye on you – so to speak. I just never had the courage to do something about it back then."

His smile was infectious. "Maybe that was for the better…we could have messed it all up back then."

"Yeah. That was what I was scared of."

Silence lulled in the car for the next couple of minutes, yet it was not uncomfortable. Annie felt even safer, secure. For once, she was going to get what she wanted.

"But." Auggie raised a finger. "We need one of these couple names. You know, an amalgamation of our names. Like Bradgelina."

"Ok…um. What about Angie?"

He shook his head. "What about no. That stinks. Anker?"

They simultaneously shook their heads before, simultaneously coming up with a name they both liked. "Walkerson."

Liza Hearn's apartment was cold. Clinically clean, there was not a single speck of dust anywhere. Bookshelves were arranged in alphabetical order; the double bed was immaculately made. In a tragic turn of irony, what looked like tomorrow's outfit was neatly draped over the back of a cream armchair in the master bedroom.

Against Auggie's wishes, she had locked him in the car. She hated leaving him but one, he had no official role, using only his cuteness to tag along and two, at least she cracked the window for him.

Whatever Arthur wanted, Annie figured the best place to look was the journalist's office. Awards lined shelves, framed articles were hung on the walls and a pile of files were stacked next to Liza's Apple Mac.

This felt wrong. Picking the lock went against every bone in her body. She was searching a dead woman's apartment, picking through her personal belongings, analysing her life. But what other choice did she have? Liza Hearn was murdered. Who knows who could be next?

The files, all seven of them, were notes and documents on the Holder & Sons Banking Group scandal. Annie had seen the headlines earlier that week. Liza had exposed shocking data that detailed extortionate bonuses for bankers. She doubted that Arthur would ever listen, but there was the possibility in the back of Annie's mind that the killing could be related to these events. Money drove people to extremes.

Sorting through the desk drawers, Annie found more equally useless documents, a collection of family photographs and an assortment of stationary. Unrelenting, she turned to the PC. No doubt it would be password protected and she couldn't just walk out of the apartment building carrying a computer. She could, however, unplug the external hard drive and take that.

She slipped the one terabyte drive into her blazer pocket and gave the room a final scan. That was when she saw it – the slightest discrepancy in the otherwise perfect room. The framed New York Times Cover, the headline "What Is the CIA Not Telling Us?", the story that shot her to fame a few years ago, was hung on the wall squint. It was the smallest of discrepancies but it was enough for Annie to take a chance.

Annie was right to take the chance. Behind the frame was a hole in the wall just wide enough to fit a hand in. Reaching into the gap, essentially built as a small shelf, she pulled out a USB memory stick and a set of keys. Examining the keys, her eyes fell upon the blue plastic key ring. A collection of numbers was scrawled on it in blue ink. There weren't random – they were coordinates.

A floorboard creaked, the noise coming from the foyer of the apartment. Annie slipped her finds into her pocket and hastily hung the frame back up. Unless it was Liza Hearn, which was unlikely for one very solid reason, there was someone else here who shouldn't be.

If it was Auggie, she was going to kill him. She had made it very clear that he better not dare to put a foot outside of the car. Keeping close to the wall, she peered around the open doorway. It definitely wasn't Auggie.

Annie took a second, waiting to see what the best course of action would be. She hadn't been spotted, not standing anywhere near the doorway until she heard that noise. Neither did she think she had been followed – she had been here for a good fifteen minutes, so why come now? The hulking figure in the denim jacket didn't look like a cop or a fed. He didn't even look the type to be a spook. However, he didn't look lost – he was looking for something like she was.

His heavy footsteps became closer and closer. He was coming. Waiting until she could hear his shallow breathing, she made up her mind.

The man cursed as the door was slammed in his face, thudding into the wall. She wasted no time in opening the door, coming face to face with the dazed brute.

He grabbed for her but she slipped under his arms, spearing him back into the wall and knocking the wind out of him. Gasping for breath, he didn't give up and brought up a knee into her stomach.

Annie fell back but scrambled to her feet. She took too long. One of his massive hands wrapped around her neck and he pinned her up to the wall. The tables had turned in the blink of an eye. Fighting, clawing at the man's hold, Annie was beginning to find little air, her vision growing foggy. She didn't even have thirty seconds at this rate.

Just as she felt herself slipping, her hope fading as quickly as her sight, she heard a panicked scream coming from the parking lot outside, just one floor down from Liza's first floor flat.

"ANNIE!" Auggie's cry, stained with desperation, scared the crap of her. He needed her and it gave her just the kick she needed.

Digging deep into her reserves, she found the strength to drive a Louboutin into the man's groin. He recoiled and she countered, pouncing at the man's neck pulling him into a sleeper hold. It took five long seconds before she heard a satisfying crack and discarded his limp body to the ground.

She flew down the stairs, pushing the service door open with both hands. Sprinting over to her Volkswagen, she saw no Auggie. The passenger door was wide open but the passenger was absent. Horrified, Annie's eyes found the black van shooting out of the parking lot.

She gave chase but it eventually left her sight.

She knew, just knew that Auggie was in the back of it.


	7. Chapter 7

This was the time his other senses really kicked in as he tried to piece together the pieces. The smell of gasoline, the harsh ticking of a clock and a metallic taste lining his mouth. His arms were uncomfortably tied behind him, around the back of a chair. His legs were restricted too. Not that it mattered. A man without his disability stood a slim chance – a blind man was pretty much screwed.

His body ached. The muscles in his arms wanted to give in and his jaw was sore from the beating he received before they bundled him in the back of their transportation. He'd blacked out and Auggie remembered clearly up to the moment where his head cracked off the metal of the van.

He stayed calm. Freaking out would only get him killed. Staying calm gave him a fighting chance at best.

Annie. His mind drifted back to Annie. He hoped she'd heard his warning and hoped to God that he didn't compromise her position. He'd known something was up when he heard a vehicle screeching through the car park. It wasn't a crazed delivery driver and he'd sensed it that moment. The heavy footsteps pounding the tarmac only proved his theory further. They wasted no time – it was Annie's Volkswagen they were after and no doubt it was him and Annie that they wanted.

They were followed.

Everything about this new, sudden mission had seemed strange. Annie's reluctance to divulge and Arthur's apparent secretive nature. In fact, the whole morning now seemed off. Annie's little trip somewhere and even Barber's remark about her neck injury. She'd been lying this morning. That was part and parcel of working in the CIA. But she had been lying to him and now this had happened. Auggie doubted that it was coincidental.

Creaking. A door opening followed by clunky footsteps similar to earlier. The party was about to start.

The hood that covered Auggie's head was yanked off. Auggie sighed. "You guys are aware that I'm blind right? Blindfolds are not necessary."

"Oh, OK. You're blind. Sure." The voice that answered was American, gruff and extremely doubtful.

Auggie ducked as the man threw a fist aimed for his head. He avoided it. "Nice test there mister. I'm blind but I ain't stupid. You have to adapt, you know? Comes in handy when some chick decides to throw a drink in your face."

The man was already growing restless. "Listen pal, you mind shutting the hell up? I've got no time for your crap and I don't give a damn whether you're Stevie Wonder or not."

"Never said I was. Stevie Wonder became blind at an early age whereas I -."

"Shut your goddamn mouth." His captor careered a balled fist into the side of Auggie's head, one that he didn't bother to avoid. "I said I don't care about your tragic life story. But I want to know why you and that pretty little blonde thing were at that apartment today. OK?"

"I'm not really. I'm a little parched, actually."

There was sickening crack, followed by a searing pain. Blood trickled down Auggie's lips. The bastard had broken his nose in one swift hit.

"You better start talking about what you do know that I'm actually interested in. Else I'm just getting started here, buddy."

Auggie licked his lips, furiously trying to stop the stream on blood from dripping down on his shirt. "I'm sorry pal but you're wasting your time here. I'm not going to talk because I don't even know what's going on here myself and that's the God's honest truth. I know you don't believe me but I'm telling you anyway. Be the bigger man and let me go. You've got nothing to lose – I don't even know what you look like."

The man sighed. "I've got nothing to lose. But you my friend, have everything to lose."

Then Auggie heard what he could only assume was the man cracking his knuckles.

Arthur was currently engaged in a meeting. Security had to restrain Annie from kicking the door down.

She waited outside of his office, one of the security guards keeping an eye trained on her to make sure she didn't move. She couldn't believe his nerve. One of his operatives gets taken hostage, another one assaulted, both results of his shady orders to break and enter into a dead woman's apartment. Yet there he was, still in a meeting with a government official that everyone knew was pre-planned and nothing urgent. The man needed some damn perspective.

Annie sat in a plastic chair, playing around with the keychain in her pocket. She wanted to track those coordinates and go there right now. But she knew Auggie wouldn't be there and right now that was all she cared about. Screw whatever help the director needed, Auggie needed her and that was all that mattered.

Twenty minutes later, Arthur showed his face. With fake smiles and insincere handshakes, he quickly waved off the government suit who carried a tacky leather suitcase. As soon as the official disappeared into the elevator, leaving the director alone with Annie, his demeanour changed. "What the hell was all that about, Agent Walker?"

She followed him into his office, making a point of slamming the door shut behind her. "What the hell was all that about? Are you kidding me?"

"No. I'm not. I take it this is all about Liza Hearn."

Annie shook her head and crossed her arms. "No and I couldn't care less about her. This is about Auggie being kidnapped right in front of me today."

Arthur turned around to face her. "What? Auggie?"

"Right in front of me, just as I came out Hearn's place. They were looking for something there…I dealt with one of them but they must have panicked and took Auggie."

"I-I…" Arthur walked around his desk and slumped in his seat. "Shit. What the hell was Anderson doing there in the first place?"

Annie raised a finger and raised her voice. "Does it matter? Whatever you told me to look for, he wouldn't see anyway. Besides I left him in the car and they took him either for leverage or information that he knows nothing about. And we need to get him outta wherever the hell he is right now before it's too late."

"Of course, of course." Arthur rubbed the temples of his forehead. "I'll get someone to pull up the security tapes and we'll take it from there." He exhaled loudly. "You said you dealt with one? Are they dead?"

"What do you think?"

Arthur nodded and cursed under his breath. "This doesn't look good. This is worse than we thought, worse than I thought. Did you find anything?"

Annie blinked, taking precious milliseconds to process his self-centred comment. As quickly as the action took, she brought a fist down on his expensive desk. "Listen to me, Arthur Campbell. I'm not afraid of you and I don't care why you seem so desperate to save your sorry ass. But right now, you don't matter. Auggie matters. And I'm sure if it were Joan in this situation, you'd be doing everything possible to save the person you love."

Arthur looked Annie straight in the eyes. He didn't looked pissed that one of his own operatives had reprimanded him. Instead he looked sorry.

"Now, I've got something that Liza Hearn went to great lengths to hide but you ain't getting it until I get Auggie back. Understand?"

Arthur nodded. "Completely. I'll make sure you'll have everything at your disposal to get Anderson back here in one piece."

"Thank you."

He slowly rose from his seat. "You know I've seen you two, yourself and Anderson grow closer these past few years. I'd never doubt the lengths you'd go to protect him. You mentioned love…and Joan. That's how I got into the whole mess. I know that she's more than capable of taking care of herself but this time? I well and truly have to protect her."

Annie felt he was on the urge of spilling. "From what? Those guys who have Auggie?"

Arthur wandered over to a shelf and picked up a framed picture. Of his wedding day. "Maybe. I don't know for sure. But I have to protect her from this. If she were to ever know…"

"Know what?"

Arthur gently placed the picture down. He turned around and calmly replied. "About my son."


	8. Chapter 8

"Son?" Annie echoed. The director had said it so calmly it was as if it was common knowledge. "Is this what it's all about? Is this why Liza's dead and Auggie is captured?"

Arthur Campbell shrugged his broad shoulders and frowned. "I can't say for certain but there is certainly the possibility."

It went against all her earlier instincts but Annie wanted to stay and hear the whole story. Maybe it would help, maybe give her a clue as to this whole mess that started with her meeting Henry Wilcox last night. "Tell me, sir. I'm a part of this now, aren't I? Don't you think I deserve to know?"

"You do, Annie. You damn well deserve to know. Hell, you probably would still be in The Farm, waiting for your big call up if it weren't for me."

"Wait…" She felt for the chair with her hand, slumping into the leather armchair, her eyes not moving from Arthur. "I thought I was here because of Ben? I thought that was your excuse for throwing me into the field way before I should've been?" The director gave a wry smile as a response and Annie latched onto it. "No, no. I can't…Ben's your son? What the hell? Have you been lying to me all of this time?"

"Not lying…just not telling you the full story."

Annie couldn't believe the nerve of this man. Three years she'd followed orders and three years she'd put her trust in Arthur. Now, he was giving her every reason not to. "So he's your son, right?"

"He is."

"And this is what you've been trying to hide? This is why you've been so damn touchy with me?"

"I guess so," Arthur muttered.

Annie sighed. Maybe it made sense, in some whole other world, but to her the alien concept was still lacking. Where did Simon fit into the picture? Why was someone so desperate to silence Liza? And, this was the kicker, what was Arthur protecting Joan from? The truth? There shouldn't be any need for speculation when the answer sat in front of her. "You said something about defending Joan? Is she in danger?"

Arthur slowly looked up from the surface of his desk and soberly answered. "I think so." With a hand he pushed a flopping lock of hair back, rising from his seat. "I'm sorry if I came across a little…secretive but this is how it is. If I lose Joan…I can't lose her. Annie, I need you. I need you to help me. You're a damn good operative, one of the best and one that I can rely on. Whatever Henry said is bullshit. I need you on my team. I need you to save Joan and the baby."

There was nothing, nothing she could argue with. "Count me in."

Arthur reached out a hand, patting her shoulder. "Thank you so much. But first of all, we need to save your man. I'll get you the tapes pulled from that parking lot and we can start from there."

"Thank you. And sir?" Annie scooped the items found at Hearn's apartment out of her pocket. "These are Liza's. She went to great lengths to hide them, they're worth checking out."

Arthur nodded, accepting the goods. "OK. I'll get these looked over. Hopefully they'll lead us somewhere."

Annie nodded and turned to leave.

"Oh and Annie? Remember, not a word to anyone. This is our secret, OK?"

He hadn't even seen a thing but he had heard enough. Enough but nothing that he wanted to hear.

Kicking open the foreman's office door, he entered the main body of the warehouse where the agent was tied to a chair and having abuse, both physical and mental, thrown at him. The capture of a CIA operative was dangerous territory in itself. Even more so when Auggie Anderson would easily recognise his voice.

Interrogating the agent personally was a no go. In fact, interrogating the agent at all was a no go. He wouldn't break.

Instead he made a grab for his supposed colleague, without a word, pulling him back into the empty office. Even with the door shut, he hushed his voice, fearful of Auggie's extra-sensitive senses. "The hell do you think you're playing at? You trying to kill him?"

The hired muscle looked down at bruised knuckles. "You wanted him to talk?"

"Not anymore. He won't."

"So, what do we do?"

"We use him as bait, that's what we do. Campbell and Annie won't want their man to get hurt, they'll come crawling."

Sometimes Eric Barber was that annoying nerdy guy whose sole purpose was to annoy and eat chips at his desk. Other times he was a freaking genius. "How much clearer can you get that image?"

Barber said nothing in response to Annie and clicked a couple of times on the image. Soon enough the van's license plates transformed from a blurred group of pixels into something very intelligible. Barber looked up at her with a cheeky grin. "That good enough for you?"

"If you can run that plate right now, that would be more than good."

Another click, followed by the printer springing to life just seconds after. He swivelled round in his chair, grabbing the printout. "Van is reported as stolen. However, here is a list of all the speed cameras it's been clocked by within the last twenty four hours."

Annie run her eyes down the list, each camera location preceded by coordinates. Then it caught her eye. The last one on her list. Even if she believed in coincidences, a van triggering a speed camera very close to Miss Hearn's secretive key ring coordinates was a little too much to believe. "Eric Barber, you are a legend my friend."

"Please. Tell me something I didn't know," Barber said, smiling. "But Annie, can I just ask you one little thing?"

Annie was putting her blazer on, ready to hit the streets. "Shoot."

"I know it may be classified in this business and all, but why is Auggie getting bundled into the back of that rusty van?"

"Sorry but you're right. It's classified."


	9. Chapter 9

Annie.

For the second time that day, he recognised the distinctive sound of her heels. The clacks echoed all around him. Normally it would be difficult to pinpoint which direction the sound came from. But Auggie wasn't normal. She was to the right of him and she was exactly where she shouldn't be. Here. In danger.

Her steps were slow and measured and, barring the heels, she was keeping a relatively low profile. No doubt about it, she had seen him and she was probably scoping out the area but everything felt wrong. His captors had left him alone for what seemed like hours, themselves not making a sound. But to the best of his knowledge, they had not left. This was a set-up. He was the pawn taken to get to the queen. And he was helpless, the ropes that he trying to loosen still too tight.

# # #

His face was battered. Blood glistened on his face and stained his shirt. She wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around him and get him out of here. Not yet.

She kept her gun angled to the floor. It was a very horrible sense of déjà vu. This warehouse was the very same one where she had encountered Simon Fischer that morning. Except he wasn't here. Nobody seemed to be here.

# # #

Joan Campbell hated being lied to. In addition to her husband trying to send her out of the picture, he'd also been ignoring her calls all morning. If he wanted to be secretive then she was going to have to play him at his own game. Spy games. It always gave her a sick thrill.

That was why she'd didn't confront him earlier, after she'd headed back to Langley, sick of wallowing in morning sickness alone. Instead, she tailed the last operative that left his office.

She'd given Annie ample time to enter that warehouse. Pulling up just around the corner, she had a clear view without being seen. Walker had looked so determined, fearless as she entered. Joan had always respected the young woman for her professionalism and her drive. But this was a different sort of drive altogether.

# # #

Every second she continued to stare was another second that Auggie suffered. Yet her feet wouldn't obey her, holding her back from leaving the safety of the wall. Auggie was out in the open, exposed vulnerable. Who was to say that there wasn't someone pointing a gun at his head that she couldn't see? His life may be in her hands.

Courage. Find it damnit, she told herself. Speed would be her friend. Sharp enough and, if needed, victory would be hers. Speed-.

She spun a hundred and eighty degrees as the door creaked open. She hit the brakes before she pulled the trigger. The name came out as a whisper. "Joan?"

The DPD head had a gun drawn herself. However she did not look at all surprised at Annie's presence. Her gaze flicked to Auggie. "What the hell is going on here?"

Unaware of the circumstances, her voice was a little too loud for Annie's liking. Annie held a finger to her lips but the gesture was a little too late.

"Freeze, both of you. Place your guns on the ground. Now."

Annie froze, not at the command but from the man it had come from. Yet again, in this very warehouse, she found herself face to face with one of the last people she'd ever imagine. "Ben?"

"Hi, Annie." He had not changed a bit since she'd last seen him. Same haircut, same beard, same calmness about him. It made her flashback to the time she loved him. He took a step closer. "Annie, Joan. Do your friend a favour and drop your weapons. I've got a friend over there that'll put a bullet in Mr Anderson's brain if you don't."

Annie complied and Joan did too.

"Good girls. First of all, I'm sorry that it had to come to all of this. You could've just done me a simple favour and have brought Arthur with you 'cause I don't want Auggie, I don't want Joan and I sure as hell didn't want Annie. However, now that you're all doing my father's dirty work, I guess the situation's changed. I'll have to make do and mend."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Joan barked. This was going to get a little uncomfortable. Joan didn't know.

"Ah. You poor deluded bitch. I guess your perfect little husband didn't tell you," Ben grinned.

"Tell me what?" Joan's voice was getting louder and louder as confusion and anger set in. "And for god's sake, if you want us to have any sort of civil conversation, can you please get your goon over there to stop pointing a gun at one of my men."

"I agree and I apologise," Ben muttered. Turning around, he fired two bullets in the hired muscle's skull. "Happy?"

Goose pimples began to prick Annie's skin. She was wrong. This wasn't the Ben Mercer she once knew.

"So you want the full story, Joan? OK, who am I to disappoint? It's real simple. A year ago, my mom died and her parting gift to me was a letter. It told me who my father was and the slut he cheated on my mother with. Figured it out yet?"

"I've got no idea what the hell you are talking about? Cut the crap, Mercer and get to the point."

Ben smiled. "Arthur's my daddy and you're the slut. Not difficult, is it?" He shifted his gun between his hands. "He wrecked my family, left me and my mom to almost starve every single day. Then thirty years later, personally recruits me without telling me anything. Now, normally, I'm a nice guy. Annie, I'm pretty sure you can agree with that. But you crossed a line. You broke my mom's heart and I want justice."

Maybe if there was anyone he could listen to, it was Annie. "Ben, you need to calm down. Justice isn't murdering, you know that. You are a decent guy and you've got every right in the world to be pissed. But don't resort to this. Please."

"Thank you, Annie for your input. But you don't care about me anymore. You're with Anderson over there, aren't you? You seem to sleep around just like Joan over there. Great role model."

"Hey," Auggie called out. "Watch your mouth, you piece of shit."

Annie took another step backwards and closer to Joan. "Ben, you left me. Don't you dare try to turn the tables here. You put the gun down and think about your actions."

Ben scoffed. "Oh I am, Annie. I really am. I thinking about how this is going to end and I'm thinking about how I'm going to end Arthur. You know what happened to Liza? That was me." He spoke, proud of his actions. "She was going to expose the affair and drag my mother's name through the papers. No. I want justice and I want it done my way."

"Ben, stop it. Please, Ben. This is not right." Annie tried to grasp his gun but he shoved her off.

"Annie. You're not going to stop me."

# # #

The two gunshots bounced off each wall of the metal warehouse, followed by the heavy slump of bodies hitting concrete. Pounding footsteps then the clang of a door banging shut.

Auggie swore, called out Annie and Joan's names but to no avail. Panic evoked sweat on his body, fear pulsing through his veins. The rope cut into his wrists as he finally dug into his reserves to snap them. He hoped to god, it wasn't too late.


	10. Chapter 10

Auggie tapped his cane repeatedly against the squeaky hospital floor. A doctor had told him a couple of hours ago that his nose was broken. Auggie refused treatment even though he hurt like hell. Pain was only temporary. It was heartbreak that was permanent.

Three hours without news. Three hours left in the dark, sitting on a cheap plastic seat in a corridor that reeked of disinfectant. He didn't know what was going on. Even in that warehouse he didn't. He heard the gunshots and he heard Ben Mercer fleeing like the little wimp he was. Maybe he should be glad that his eyes didn't work for once. Would he have wanted to see the carnage left behind by a jealous little mummy's boy?

"Mr Anderson?"

Out of instinct, Auggie looked up. "Yes? What's going on? Tell me, I need to know."

The chair beside him creaked as Dr Murray sat down. "Miss Walker's fine. She's stable and conscious."

"That's it? You've been keeping me waiting all this time without so much as a word?" He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I just…"

The doctor placed a hand on Auggie's arm. "It's fine, don't worry. I've dealt with a lot worse. Now, Miss Walker has sustained what we believe is a Grade 3 Concussion."

"And what's that exactly?" Three was a goddamn high number.

"Well, she lost consciousness for a significant period of time and is currently a little disorientated. It goes without saying that any brain injury has to be closely monitored but we feel that after a few days' rest, she'll be back to her full capacity."

"That's…that's good." Auggie let out a relieved breath, the worry escaping from him. "Can I see her?"

Auggie took a hold of the doctor's arm, through a series of doors before he heard a familiar voice. "Hey, Auggie."

He felt for the bottom of the bed, ran his hand along the side and stopped when he touched hers. He grasped it. "You had me worried, Annie. Why do you always seem to do that to me?"

She laughed, although it seemed strained. "I can't help it. Maybe you're easy to worry."

"Maybe." Worrying or not, he was so grateful not to have lost her. Again.

"Auggie, I need to ask you something?" There was something in her voice that worried him.

"Sure."

"What happened?"

"What happened?" He echoed. "You don't remember?"

"I-I've tried. I've got no idea of what's happened. The doc told me it's likely due to the trauma. But right now, I've no idea what happened, no idea if I know why your face is busted up right now. I can't even remember what my last assignment was."

Auggie's eyes widened. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"Honestly? Something about a drone strike…and the name Khalid."

"That…that was a few weeks ago." Auggie felt tears stinging his eyes. Two weeks ago, they weren't together. "And that's the last thing that you remember?"

Annie nodded. "Yeah. And you wanna know a funny thing?"

Was there anything even remotely funny at this second? All Auggie wanted had seemingly been KO'd by Annie being KO'd. "Yeah, what?"

"The doctor said you were my boyfriend. I didn't have the heart to correct him."

"Yeah, that's pretty funny," Auggie said, neither a laugh nor a smile coming out of him.

# # #

Arthur Campbell had thrown up twice since he answered that phone call. He'd smashed up his office in anger, his knuckles sliced by the broken glass of his medal cabinet. He'd also broken many a speed limit as he powered down the roads to the hospital.

It was all down to him. The woman he loved was fighting for her life and it was all because of him. Somehow she'd walked into this and somehow she'd paid the price for doing so Walker had been hospitalised too, he'd heard. Anderson had a busted face. Joan was shot twice and was in surgery. Call it selfish, but he didn't care about Annie and Auggie.

He'd never been much of a crier. In fact, he couldn't recall ever crying in his adult life. Today he was making up for it. He'd never been happier this morning; the family he always wanted was coming to life. Only to be ruined by his bastard child.

"Mr Campbell?" The nurse that had been paying him visits the past few hours had returned.

"Please tell me something good here. Please," he pleaded with Brenda. She sat down. "Oh, God."

"Mr Campbell, did you know that your wife was just over six months pregnant?"

"What? No! We only found out this morning. This, this can't be right."

"No, no. It may sound hard to believe, but it is entirely possible. Some women experience little symptoms and no real noticeable bump until a very late stage."

"So Joan is six months gone?" This day was full of strange news and things that made other things more complicated.

"Yes, but unfortunately this leaves us in a critical situation. Your wife's body is currently under a lot of strain. Right now, we're fighting to stop her mass internal bleeding."

"The baby…Shit." Arthur rocked to and fro in his seat. He was close to throwing up again. "No, this can't be happening. This can't be happening!"

"Sir, we have two options. We can either try and save just your wife with the best possible chance of success or we can try save both. However, the latter puts both parties at a great risk. Honestly, it'll be less than a 50/50 chance if we can save both. We need your permission to proceed." Brenda was so calm, patient even though time was of the essence.

"Both." He answered almost immediately. "Both. Please try and save them both."

The nurse looked at him one last time before shooting off. "I'll keep you informed."


	11. Chapter 11

Three months ago. To be precise, it had been exactly ninety four days since Auggie had last been at this hospital, sitting in what could easily be the same private room and clutching the same left hand of the woman he loved. So much had changed since that day. Yet it seemed as though those history books had been wiped clean in the past few hours.

She didn't remember. Last night they'd taken that step, the following morning they'd as good as made it official. Now they were nothing, their brief relationship the ghost haunting Auggie's mind and stinging his eyes.

If only it was as easy as trying her memory, poking around for the slightest of remembrances. Fact was it had taken him so much courage in the first place to take that leap, show up at her door and release all of his feelings of the last three years. All those years he'd spent running from his feelings, thinking Annie only wanted friendship. He threw himself at women, trying to banish his true love from his mind. They were never good enough. Annie was the one.

"Auggie?"

"Yeah?" His response was as tired as Annie's. She had the luxury of enough painkillers to knock her out for a couple of days whilst recent revelations had sent his mind into overdrive, killing any notion of sleep. "You OK? You want me to get someone?"

"No. I wanna talk."

"Talk? About what?" He stopped himself from blabbering on. Maybe stopped himself from making a fool of himself.

"What happened?"

"What happened?" He echoed.

"Yeah. I mean besides me being knocked out. Something happened and I haven't even heard the slightest of reasons for why I'm back in a hospital. Was it part of a mission? Did I get the guy, whatever? I just need to know what happened. It might jog my memory."

He squeezed her hand. "Liza Hearn's dead. For some reason, Arthur sent you to her place and I get kidnapped hence why my usual beautiful face is like this."

"Oh, ok. That does answer some of my other questions that I was going to get on to. But, it doesn't look too bad. It gives you a sort of ruggedness…ruggedly handsome."

Auggie smiled. "Anyway, you come to save me, Joan shows up too-."

"Joan? Is she OK?" He could hear the genuine concern in Annie's frail voice. It pained him to answer.

"Joan was shot. Twice."

"Oh God." Annie's voice broke. "Is she-."

"She's critical but they saved her baby."

"Baby? Shit…" Annie pulled her hand away from Auggie. "Shit, shit, shit. She was pregnant? Who…who did this?"

"Annie…" She was beginning to freak out and this was not going to help anyone. "Annie, maybe you should get some more rest…"

"No." She was certain, assured in her answer. "Tell me, please Auggie. I need to know."

Auggie sighed. "Ben Mercer."

"Ben? Damnit…" Now Annie sighed. "You know what, Auggie? I think I need some more water, the jug's pretty empty. Can you sort that for me?"

He sprung to his feet, unfolding his cane. He reached for the jug. "No problem. Consider it sorted."

# # #

Holding his daughter in his arms was one of those moments he'd cherish for the rest of his life. His little miracle. Three months early, not even an hour old and already a survivor of an attack by a terrorist. It was a shame he'd make sure she'd never step a foot inside of Langley. She'd be one of the finest operatives in the agency's history, complete with the Campbell legacy with her. But she was his little girl. She was too precious to put her life on her line every day.

Tears of joy flowed from Arthur as the nurse handed her to him. She tugged on his heartstrings as she tugged on his pinkie. Ben Mercer had been a mistake; his daughter was the living embodiment of everything that was right in the world.

It was such a shame that the world could be so messed up at times and her mom was fighting for her life.

"Arthur?" He looked up at the call of his name, his tired brain not fully processing the call at the first hearing. "Arthur?"

"Joan? Joan." He clamoured out of the cheap plastic seat, jumping to his wife's side. "Oh my god, Joan." He kissed her forehead again and again. "Oh thank god. Thank god."

"Arthur…" A limp hand wrapped around his arm, pulling him away. "Arthur…" There were tears in her eyes.

"It's OK. Everything is OK. You're OK and the baby's OK. It's a girl…we've got a beautiful little girl, Joan. And she's got your eyes."

"Girl? She's…she's here?" Morphine and tiredness were exponentially increasing her confusion.

"You're were over six months…they had to deliver then. But it's OK. Everything is OK."

Then Joan smiled, a tear rolling down her cheek. "A girl…I'm a mom."

Joan's tears only made him cry even more. "Yes, you are. And I'm a daddy."

"Aren't you so?"

Arthur felt a pang of her double meaning but didn't fixate on it. One, he was too happy and two, he didn't know for certain that she knew. "It's the greatest feeling in the world, isn't it?"

Joan nodded wearily, shutting her eyes for the briefest of seconds then opening. "Annie. Is Annie OK? Is she here, I want to see her."

"Walker? Why? She's fine but you need to rest."

"No…that gun…Annie saved…Annie threw me to the ground. Ben…he wasn't wanting me…he wanted our baby…Annie saved our baby, Arthur."

# # #

"Auggie, isn't it?" He heard the voice coming from behind him and recognised it instantly. Yet he didn't have time to answer or to prepare himself as Annie's sister threw herself at him. "As soon as they called me, I jumped in the car and drove here. They said it wasn't serious, that she was OK but the first thing that I'm thinking? What has this damn job did to her now? I mean, I really wish she hadn't told me…worrying like this is not good for my health, you know?"

"Tell me about it," Auggie muttered. "It's good to see you, Danielle. Well, you know…hear you."

"Same here. You know I always thought that you and Annie would make such a cute couple."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. You're cute, Annie…she can be cute. And in your line of work, it's kinda hot. Like something out of a movie or something." She latched onto Auggie's arm. "So where is my sister?"

"Room twelve."

Danielle didn't just lead him, she dragged him through the corridor and Auggie was grateful he'd been waiting for a nurse to fill up that jug; else it'd be all over the floor. However, Danielle came to a very sudden stop.

"Anderson?" Arthur Campbell was standing very close to Auggie. Right in front of him. Danielle must've hit the brakes to avoid a collision.

"Sir. This is Danielle, Annie's sister-."

"Hi. Arthur Campbell, isn't it? I'm pretty sure I've seen you in the papers before because of…and yep, I'm just going to stop talking now."

"Sir, is everything OK?" The air had become very serious. Even Danielle's chirpy nature couldn't save it. "Sir?"

Arthur Campbell only said two words and it filled Auggie with a sense of dread. Again. "Annie's missing."


	12. Chapter 12

There was definite panic in the eyes of both the CIA director and Annie's spy friend. Danielle felt as lost as her sister was at that moment. Annie was in hospital one minute and the next she's gone. It was like Danielle had wandered onto the set of ER. Drama. Life sure was simple before she discovered that her youngest and only sister, was a spy. "Um, guys, this may be pointing out the obvious but where is my sister? I mean I thought she was in a pretty bad shape, not real serious, but serious enough to keep her in. Oh God. I bet she's discharged herself. I mean she makes such a fuss about going to the darned dentist. I don't think she'd cope with in hospitals either."

Arthur looked at her. "That's a possibility. But with the greatest of respect, miss Walker-."

"Brooks," she corrected, making a show of her wedding ring.

"Sorry. Mrs Brooks. You don't know the full gravity of the situation-."

Danielle cut in again. "I know all about Annie and her "job at the Smithsonian." She winked. "Wait? Is Annie in some sort of trouble?"

"That's also a possibility," remarked Auggie, beating Arthur to the punch. "Look Danielle, I'm going to be honest with you. I'm pretty sure that Annie is not within these walls. For whatever reason, she's disappeared and we're going to find her. And you don't need to worry."

"Don't need to worry? My sister was hosptiallized with a concussion. That's like a brain happens if my sister has some sort of blood clot and dies wherever she is?"

Auggie found her arm and placed a gentle hand on her. "She won't. Annie's tough. She's survived a hell of a lot worse."

Danielle's eyes widened at the comment but she felt it was best to not know anymore. Just now, at least. She just wanted to see her sister, something that hadn't happened in quite some time due to the geographical differences between California and DC. "So what do we do?"

"Well, myself and Arthur here will have to head back to Langley. It looks as if wherever Annie is she's got her phone with her. We might be able to get a trace from that and we go from here. You have to stay put here, I'm afraid."

Arthur looked to nod but changed his mind. "Wait, I can't. I need to stay with Joan and my daughter."

Auggie, despite his blindness turned to look at Arthur. "Sir, due to the nature of this situation, you are the only one besides Annie that knows the full extent of what we're dealing with. You might be vital if, and I stress if, Annie is in any sort of danger. We need you. Annie might need you."

"You're right…but what about Joan?"

# # #

Holding her daughter brought it all home for her. Two days ago, although it rarely ever crossed her mind, she would have thought her chances of motherhood were gone. Work was a bitch and she wasn't getting any younger. Yet now, she'd become a mother and, seemingly, a stepmother in the same day. However, it was only her little girl that made her feel like the luckiest person in the world.

"Honey?" Arthur stood at the door to the private room.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Tears tugged at her eyes as she admired the life she had created.

"As beautiful as her mother." Arthur softly smiled.

"She is. But, honestly Arthur? Flattery? Boy, you've got a lot to make up for."

Arthur didn't respond to her comment as he entered the room and placed a kiss on Joan's head. "Honey, something's came up. Do you mind if I head back the office?"

Joan looked up at him. "Really? You really think this is the best time to go-."

"Annie might be in trouble. She's disappeared." His voice was low and raw.

She didn't even have to consider it. "Go. Find her."

Arthur nodded. "I owe so much to her, I can't let her down. But I need to ask one thing of you. Her sister is here and she's kinda got nowhere to go. Do you mind if she keeps you two company?"

"No. Of course. I'd love to meet her." Joan smiled as her husband left, only to be replaced by Annie's sister, who had a strong resemblance to the woman who'd saved her life. "Danielle, isn't it?"

"Yeah. You're Annie's boss, aren't you?"

"Please, Joan." Danielle hovered around the door way, looking a little out of her depth here. "Please, sit. We don't bite."

"Thank you," Danielle smiled as she approached. "Aw, she's adorable…does she have a name?"

Joan shook her head. "Not yet…but I've got one in mind." She looked down at her child who was peacefully sleeping in her arms. "You know I owe a lot to your sister."

"You do?" Danielle's voice was ripe with disbelief.

"Our relationship the past year…it's been strained. Things have happened…but Annie? The only reason she was in hospital in the first place was because she was willing to put herself in danger to save me. She saved my little girl too. Your sister is one of the most remarkable people, not just agents, that I have ever encountered in my life."

Danielle smiled. "She is. It's just…I'm not comfortable with this. Ever since she told me-."

"You started to worry?" Danielle meekly nodded whilst Joan shook her head. "It's understandable and that was probably why Annie never wanted you to find out. But you really shouldn't worry."

"I know I'm probably being stupid and everything but Auggie told me something about having survived worse. I know, I'm a worrier. I spend all my time worrying about my kids and now I worry about my baby sister…but what did they mean by worse?"

Joan turned to face Danielle, taking a deep breath, careful not to wake her child with the sudden movement as she prepared herself to tell Danielle it straight. "A couple of months ago, Annie was shot by a woman she thought she could trust. It was touch and go for a very long time. Yet, there your sister was, only a handful of weeks after major heart surgery hunting down the very woman who shot her. I'm guessing that is what is meant by worse."

The colour drained from Danielle's face, words beginning to form at her lips but none coming to fruitition. Instead she just stared, in gaped jaw horror at Joan.

Joan couldn't help but laugh. "She's a good person. By not telling you, you don't worry."

It took Danielle a few moments to gather her thoughts and to swiftly change the topic. "So were you just here to have your baby?"

Again, Joan let out a wicked laugh. Gallows humour was a favourite of those in the CIA. "Yeah, that and I was shot. That was the danger Annie saved me from."

And yet again, Danielle's face was the perfect white picture of shock.

# # #

The black sedan roared down the road, hitting the brakes just in time to stop in front of Annie. She gave a quick look over her shoulder before she hopped into the passenger seat. "I really didn't think the offer still exsisted."

"For you, it will always exsist."Ben Mercer slammed the car into gear. "I just hope for your sake's that you haven't got anyone following us."

"No. I promise you."

"Good. It just seemed a little strange that, considering everything that has just transpired, you'd be willing to meet with me."

That thought had crossed Annie's mind. "I'm not saying I'll let you get away with this because I won't. Joan Campbell, who has done so much for me, almost died because of you. I just want to hear your side of the story before Arthur catches you and puts you in front of a firing squad."

"I thought I told you my side of the story."

"No. You told me a story and I believe it for the most part. But something much bigger is at work here and I want to what you know. That's not asking too much, is it Ben?"

"Not at all. What do you want to know and I'll tell you if I can."

Annie rubbed her sore forehead before spitting it out. "Simon Fischer."

"Simon Fischer?" Ben echoed.

Annie nodded and the name was repeated for the third time in the car. "Simon Fischer."

Ben scratched his stubble covered chin before making a sharp right turn, ignoring the red light. "I'll do one better than telling you. I'll take you to him."


	13. Chapter 13

"Are you working with Simon?"

Ben kept his eyes on the road, not even blinking as Annie asked. "I don't work with anyone. From experience, it never ends well for those involved. I'm a lone wolf."

"Yeah, its cause the "truth's complicated", isn't it?" The wet ink on that note three years ago was every bit as fresh as that day he walked out of her life without a single explanation.

"The truth's always complicated in this game. Why don't you seem to realise that?"

"Come to think about it, Ben, I starting to. I was told all this bullshit about you a few years ago, how the agency was using me to get to you. Maybe that was true, maybe it wasn't. I don't care. However, come to think about it, the second you walked right back into my life, once you knew that I was CIA, you were using me to get to Arthur, weren't you?"

Ben shrugged and smiled. "You always did have brains and beauty, didn't you? Back then I knew…only Arthur didn't know that I knew. Simple as that. Idiot didn't see it coming, his own little plan backfiring on him."

Annie shook her head, defiant. "No Ben. This is all going to backfire on you. I'm not letting you get away with this. You left someone I care about, and her unborn child, fighting for her life. You're going to rot in hell, you know that?"

Sadistically, the grin widened on his face. "Tell me something, Annie. Why do you think those two shots weren't aimed at you? Why do you think I had no intention to kill you?" He raised a finger before she could answer. "Don't bother, I'll tell you. It's because I know everything that I'm doing is wrong. I know that I'll be lucky to rot in a prison cell if I'm caught. But right now? I don't have many options. I've got a list of enemies as long as a phonebook, I've got to constantly look over my shoulder and feel crosshairs burn onto my back. What sort of life is that? At least this way, I'm trying to do what's right in making my scumbag of a supposed father suffer for everything he did to my mom. Who knows? Maybe I'll be given a way out of my hell of a life."

That was the most Ben had ever opened up to Annie but she wasn't overcome with the sympathy others might feel. Making enemies was part and parcel of the spy game. Don't like it, don't play. "I'm going to put a bullet through your head before I'll let you walk away."

"Good," he smirked. "But just not yet. You need me to know more."

# # #

"Eric Barber, stop eating those chips, get your feet off that desk and look lively," Arthur yelled at the lazy but equally skilled computer engineer and general whiz kid who leapt at the order.

"Sorry, sir. Sorry, sir." His chips scattered on the floor as the bag fell from his grasp.

"I need you to triangulate Annie Walker's cell phone. Now."

"Annie's?" Barber looked up, just as Auggie entered the room. "Wait, is Annie in some sort of trouble?"

Auggie blanked the question. "Just locate her damn cell please, Eric."

Barber nodded and started clicking and typing away. "On it."

Arthur left him to it, turning to Auggie. "We'll find her, don't worry."

"But she wasn't answering her cell…after everything that's happened these past few days, how the hell can I not worry? Things are turning to shit here, Arthur. And everything seems to involve you. Yet you haven't offered me any sort of explanation. At all. Liza Hearn was murdered, I was kidnapped, Joan almost died and now Annie's missing. Oh and Ben Mercer claims to be your son. Just a typical couple of days at the agency, huh?"

Arthur bit down on his tongue before he unleashed a torrent of "It's not that simples" or "its classifieds". But he sympathised with the man. He damn well did deserve an explanation. "In time, Auggie. I'm not one for promises, but in time. I promise you that."

Auggie smiled, on the cusp of saying something before Barber beat him to it. "Got it. Annie's at-."

Arthur leaned in to see the screen. "St Johnston's hospital. Damn. She must have left her phone there. Crap." He took a deep breath, not prepared to give up just yet. "Pull the footage from the hospital between nine-thirty and ten o'clock. When you see Annie track her movements."

"Consider it done, chief."

Arthur turned to Auggie, whose brow was knitted in frustration. "You need to get some sleep, Anderson. You're no good to us like this."

"But-."

"No buts. We'll find-."

"Aw man," muttered Barber. All heads turned in his direction, wanting an explanation. "I, um, hacked into the hospital camera feed but, um…there's nothing. Either the system went down or someone took it down. There's nothing absolutely nothing. It's all black during that time period."

"Brilliant, just—Auggie." Arthur chased after Auggie who was making a sharp exit from the room. "Auggie…we'll find her."

"Will you? Screw you Arthur Campbell." Tears glistened in the man's eyes. "Screw you. Everything that's happened is because of you. A few days ago, I was happy. Hell, me and Annie were happy. Now she remembers nothing. If she dies, it's all your fault."

Arthur stood, helplessly watching as the heartbroken man navigated his way out of the bullpen. August Anderson was right. It was all because of him.

# # #

Ben killed the engine. "Get out."

Annie sat where she was, her gut telling her Simon Fischer didn't hang around abandoned industrial estates.

"Annie, I'm not asking here. Get the hell out of this car," Ben ordered, pulling up his jumper ever so slightly to reveal the leather of a holster. "Don't think I'm kidding. If I have to, I will."

Reluctantly, she obeyed his commands, her eyes never leaving the weapon. A cold wind hit her as she threw open the passenger door and slammed it shut. Ben got out too. "Why are we here, Ben? Is Simon here?"

He grinned. "He's been with us the entire time." He gestured for her to follow him over to the trunk.

The smell was overwhelming as Ben popped the trunk, revealing Simon Fischer's bruised and battered body. It only took a few seconds for Annie to keel over to throw up. "You...sick…twisted bastard."

"You did ask." There was smugness in his voice. Pride almost.

"Why?" There was little left in her stomach to empty but her legs felt like heavy weights. She stayed on her knees, staring up at the man she fell in love with in Sri Lanka. "The only thing I can remember for myself is Simon. I can only remember meeting him…why did you do this?"

"Well whilst Simon Fischer was claiming to be KGB, no doubt to you, he was working with Arthur. Arthur had paid him twenty five thousand dollars to stop me. So…I stopped him."

Some of that rang a bell. That fuzzy meeting with Simon, in a warehouse somewhere, became a little clearer. KGB. That was Simon's story. It made sense. Arthur didn't want the world to know the truth, didn't want things to be torn apart by his illegitimate child. Ben Mercer was a nuisance. "You son of a…"

She heard Ben laugh before he lunged at her, wrapping his arm wrapped around her neck. "I wouldn't fight it, Annie." But she fought, her weak and tired body trying to kick out, free herself from the vice grip. But he was winning, the hold growing tighter and tighter, her vision growing fuzzier and fuzzier until everything went blank.


	14. Chapter 14

Her head throbbed, her muscles hurt straining against her restraints and worry lay in her stomach as she faced the unpredictable son of a bitch. She stared down both the lens of a camera and the muzzle of a Glock 9mm. The red light of the camera flashed on, so prominent in the dimly lit derelict building that looked like a warehouse. It looked familiar but she couldn't quite place where she had seen it.

Ben nodded at Annie, his finger brushing against the trigger as he waited.

"Arthur," she began, her throat raspy and dry. She wasn't sure how long she had been out for but it must have been some time. Hunger joined the worry in her gut. "Arthur…Ben Mercer wants to settle things once and for all." She squinted at the sheet of crumpled A4 Ben held in his other hand. "Meet him at Lot 434, West Linton Street, four o'clock. Bring nobody except yourself. Fail to meet these demands and…" Annie swallowed hard, seeing the truth in Ben's poor handwriting. "Annie Walker will be killed."

Ben pressed the button on the device to end the recording. He slipped his gun back between the belt of his jeans. He slow clapped. "Great job Annie. I appreciate it."

She glared at him. "You really think I had a choice? You're not the man I once knew…thought I knew. You're a sick deluded bastard. You kill Simon and you trick me?"

He laughed. "First of all, get your facts straight. You reached out to me-."

"Only because I thought you were a decent guy…misunderstood, lost. The old Ben Mercer gave me a number to reach out if I ever needed him. You abused my trust."

"Wake up and smell the coffee that you're probably no doubt craving! There's no old Ben Mercer…there's just Ben Mercer. Me" He pointed to himself and smirked. "And trust? C'mon Annie. I thought you weren't that naïve. There's no trust in this world. Especially not ours."

She tried to make out the time on Ben's silver watch in the harsh light as he approached her. Two-fifteen. Arthur had two hours. Less than that.

"And let me tell you about Simon Fischer, Annie." He brushed back strands of her hair and breathed down her neck. Her limbs were duck taped to the wooden chair were powerless to stop him. "Simon Fischer also wasn't the man you thought he was. He was working for Arthur. His cover story all along, his KGB ties? All bullshit, created by Arthur. Arthur and Simon worked under an agreement. He'd pay Simon a whole damn lot of money to get rid of problems…he made Simon a millionaire, all under the agreement that he was untraceable back to Arthur. Everyone thought Simon was an enemy thanks to Arthur but really? He was a hired gun. Arthur had paid him to kill me. Only I beat the bastard at his own game."

"You've already told me all that," Annie muttered.

"Yeah. I know I have. But I want to make sure you know exactly the sort of people you're dealing with…the people you can "trust"".

"He wanted to protect his damn family!" Annie pulled at the restraints, unsuccessfully. "God forbid him that!"

"I am his family! His own flesh and blood and that's exactly what he wants. Blood." Ben shook his head as he grasped the video camera. "Now I've got to rush…send this thing out. You better hope to God that I don't return. Else…" He sliced the air in front of his neck. "Annie Walker will be rotting in hell like my father. You should've stayed out of this…you were an angel, Annie. Heaven was calling."

Daylight hit her as Ben opened the metal door. Squinting she watched as he winked back at her and left, the door slowly shutting behind him. In those brief seconds, she took the opportunity to get a proper look at her surroundings. Empty, rusting metal walls, concrete floor and…Annie blinked to make sure she saw it right. She did. Blood spatter.

Joan's.

Where the hell did that come from? It came from somewhere, and although she doubted herself, something told her that it was. Yeah, right before her skull had cracked against that ground and the world blacked out, on that very ground her feet were touching, she'd seen blood beginning to pool from Joan.

Auggie had been right there…in front of them to the right of Ben…then he fired. Then…

Damnit. Her head hurt, just as she felt she was getting somewhere, unlocking those memories. Why hadn't Ben shot her? How had she hit the ground?

Annie didn't know. But she knew that she had to get the hell out of here. Ben was going to kill Arthur and she was a sitting duck right here. Ben didn't want witnesses. He didn't want Annie.

She pushed up, raising the chair of the ground not more than a centimetre before crashing her weight back down. Nothing. She tried again. This time the wood creaked. Something.

# # # # #

For once, Auggie didn't feel alone like he had the past day or so. He sure didn't have Annie, the thing he wanted most and forever, but he did have a bottle of Scotch to drown out his pain. Annie could be anywhere. Alive…hurting…dead.

Sitting on his floor, in his big, empty apartment, Auggie brought the glass to his lips and emptied it. It stung the back of his throat like recent revelations had stung his heart. He looked down into the empty glass before he tossed it at a wall, the glass shattering and spraying everywhere. He cut out the middleman and reached for the bottle instead.

# # # # #

Arthur took a deep breath as the email popped up on his computer desktop. He had a small team in the DPD running every possible angle which, at this stage, was little bar screening nearby surveillance tapes looking for the puzzle piece that didn't fit – be it a speeding van or a glimpse of the missing operative. Until that very second there had been nothing and he'd left his recovering wife and his new-born daughter alone in the hospital while he sat twiddling his thumbs. Now, the email titled "Arthur, I'm Not Kidding", scared him half to death.

He summoned the courage to open the email and to click on the attachment. He watched the twenty seconds of a visibly scared and shaken Annie Walker spout instructions no doubt made to by the man named in the video, Ben Mercer. His son. His own flesh and blood. His greatest enemy.

He checked his watch. A little over an hour and a half. Enough time to whip up a tactical team and plan out every possible move that the meet at 434 West Linton Street could take. Yet, although his hand hovered over the desk telephone to make that call, he decided against it. This was personal, a matter that should stay between father and son. Arthur was putting his neck on the line, crosshairs burning his back already but it was his life. Not Joan, not his baby's and maybe, just maybe not the life of the operative he owed so much too.

He wasted no precious time, yanking his suit jacket from his chair and grabbing his car keys. Ben Mercer wanted a war and Arthur was only too happy to bring it to him.

# # # # #

Sweat was breaking out on her temple. Annie's whole body ached. She was nowhere near a hundred percent, dazed, battered and sore. But despite her weaknesses, she had one positive in her favour. Determination.

She had long given up on slamming the chair down hard on the ground. It rattled fragile bones and sent jolts to her nerves. Plus it took too long. No, she'd resorted to a right boneshaker; slowly managing to bend her knees and take the weight of the chair she was taped to over to the nearest wall and reversed backwards into it. The metal wall clanged and the chair soon began to splinter.

She was toeing the very dangerous line of the momentum of the impact sending her headfirst into the concrete ground.

She was beginning to remember just how much that hurt.

Attempt number thirteen. But this thirteen was the lucky one, the wooden structure cracking and Annie hit the floor, free from the furniture bar her arms still taped to the broken arms of the chair. But the ounce of flexibility she had now allowed her, with ease to rip off the adhesive strips off her naked arms.

Her body didn't feel good but there was no time to complain or waste. She still had enough left in the tank to sprint off towards the door, hoping to god that it wasn't locked.

There was a god. The sunlight hit her as she emerged from the warehouse and her memory again started to comply, although still very much in fuzzy fragments. Fuzzy or not, she could picture where she was and the quickest route to West Linton Street and again she hoped to god.

Hoped to God that she wasn't too late.

# # # # #

Auggie heard the rain begin to batter on the window, breaking the otherwise still silence. He didn't need his sight to tell him that the window pane was exactly like his face, only instead droplets of rain there were tears.

The world was cruel.

He was only now beginning to see that.


	15. Chapter 15

434 West Linton Street was what used to be the printing press for a local newspaper. Having shut a year and a half ago, it had been abandoned with no real effort to find the place an owner. Neither had there been an effort to get the place in order. Crates and wooden pallets were stacked up against walls, a couple of old presses lay rusting in the central floor space and the lights hadn't worked for years.

Ben Mercer had done his homework. As expected, he hadn't made this at all easy for Arthur and Arthur hadn't been at all surprised. Granted, some of Mercer's work had been sloppy up until this point. He hadn't thought that Arthur would have sent reinforcements to rescue Auggie. He would've ended this mess back then if he knew Ben was the bastard behind it all.

In reality, he left things too late. He'd left things escalate, putting everyone in danger when it should've been himself in the firing line.

"Glad to see you've graced me with your presence."

Arthur spun a hundred and eighty degrees. "You son of a bitch."

"Drop the gun, dad." He smirked at the last word, only adding it for effect. He held his own gun level at Arthur's heart. He took a step closer.

Arthur did as he was told; placing the handgun on the ground beside him, then kicked it along the ground behind Ben. "Happy?"

"Happy is not the word," Ben didn't lower his aim. "Happy for you, may be."

"Where is she?" Arthur demanded.

"Where is who?"

"Don't you dare play dumb with me. Where's Walker?"

Ben again smiled. "I'll tell you where she isn't. Here, that's where. I'm afraid you're all alone here with me. After all, it is a family reunion."

Arthur signed. "Ben, I'm not going to lie here. I'll admit anything that you want."

"That sounds like you're pleading. Pleading for your life."

"I really don't care what it sounds like. You want to know why? Because I want my life. I've got a family now; I've got something to live for."

Ben's finger seemed to twitch as it hovered over the trigger. "But you've always had family. Family that you've tried to lie to…family you've tried to hide."

"That's not what it was all about, Ben. That was never the reason. I didn't want to lie to you or about you…ever. And that is the God's honest truth."

Ben shook his head. "That's not good enough. That'll never-."

"It is good enough! You want to know the truth? No more secrets? You know your mother? She was one of us. She was CIA through and through! And she was the biggest liar of us all. She cheated on me!" Arthur pointed at himself, past feelings of anger seeping into his words.

The man holding the gun kept shaking his head. "You're lying. You're lying!"

"Am I? Am I really? Chet Gunnarsson. Chet Gunnarsson was the man she ran off with whilst she was pregnant. It was never the other way around. I started dating Joan a few weeks after she ran off to Delaware with that scummy bastard. Hence the reason why I never had any contact with you. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to but after a few years without a single word from her, I realised I was being stupid. Nobody knew I was a father and you know what? I was too bitter to accept the fact. Happy?"

Ben's eyes widened, his hands beginning to shake. "No…no. No! I know what you're doing; you're trying to mess with me! My mother wasn't CIA!"

Arthur remained calm even though the man holding the gun was getting angrier and angrier. "Check the record books. Hell, I'll show you the record books. Julie Kear worked alongside me in the DPD for three years and we were dating for two."

"Ha! That's not my mother's name. Don't try to bullshit me."

"She changed her name to Maura Mercer, thinking I wouldn't be able to find her. For years I couldn't but being the DCS gets you some perks."

Ben's eyes were beginning to glaze over with what looked like tears. "That's not what Henry told me. Henry told me—."

"A pack of lies? Yeah, that's right. If you haven't realised, Henry isn't exactly my best friend. Give him the slimmest angle to get to me and he'll run it to the ground."

"I-I…" Ben stammered as he stared at Arthur.

"Ben…let's end this differently than we both intended. Hand me-."

The gunshot erupted throughout the big room. The gun fell from Ben's hand and he fell into Arthur's arms, groaning. A battered and bruised Annie Walker stood at the door holding the smoking gun, unfazed after just delivering the bullet that pierced Ben's back.

Arthur pushed Ben off him, onto the ground. He smiled at Annie. "You know…saving the lives of two Campbells within two days – that's not going to go unnoticed at Langley. Where the hell did you come from?"

Annie stammered. "I-I saved Joan's life?" Then the fact looked to click with the young operative. "I did…I did, didn't I?"

"You sure did. Now, hand me that gun there, so I can finish this once and for all."

Annie duly followed orders, handing Arthur the Glock she'd luckily picked up behind Ben. She couldn't stay. She didn't want to watch Ben being put out of his misery. She excused herself, citing the other business she so desperately needed to attend to before she made a sharp exit.

Just as the door slammed shut behind her, she heard a single gunshot ring out.

# # # # #

A smile tugged at Arthur's lips as he entered his wife's hospital room. Not just at the sight of Joan, who looked happy to see him and not just at the sight of his baby daughter whom Joan was cradling. But at the sight of Danielle Brooks, who must have stayed for the last twelve hours, and was passed out in the chair next to the bed. "You two had fun?" He remarked.

Joan looked a little horrified. "Other than the fact she seems a little too attached to our child, she's actually OK."

"Attached?" Arthur leaned in to kiss his wife.

"Well…she kept talking about how cute she is. Then spent an hour wishing how Annie could, and I quote, "pop out a kid sooner or later, so I can be a better auntie than my sister believes she is""

"Whoa…if you want, I could put a security detail on her to make sure she doesn't steal our little darling."

Joan shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips. "Maybe…how is Annie anyway? We found her yet?"

"Yes." Arthur prised his child from Joan's arms. "And Ben Mercer too. He's dead."

"Good. And Annie's good?"

Arthur's smile widened as he rocked the bundled in his arms. "She's fine. She said she had her own business to take care of. Now enough about that Annie…how about our own little Annie."

Joan smiled at the name that they had chosen for their daughter. "When do you think Walker will find out we've called our baby after her?"

# # # # #

Auggie was in two minds whether or not to answer the door. It was probably Arthur finally bothering to run after him, only to tell him that they were still looking for Annie.

But the person ringing the doorbell was persistent and had rung the bell at least five times in the last two minutes. If Auggie wanted peace and quiet to drown alone in his thoughts, he was probably going to have to answer that door and tell who ever it was to clear off.

He fumbled over to the door and slid it open. Before he could say anything, arms wrapped around his body and lips planted on his. He didn't even need to ask who it was. He returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around the woman he thought he'd never see again.

"I'm sorry Auggie…" Annie drew back, resting her forehead against Auggie. "I'm sorry I forgot…I'm sorry if that hurt you. But I remember…everything. And I…I love you."

Tears pricked at Auggie's eyes. "I love you too, Annie.

Annie found his hand and took it. "Now…let's pick up where we left off." And she led him into the bedroom.


	16. Chapter 16

_2 Days Later_

"Ben Campbell?" The man formerly known as Ben Mercer looked up from the chair he was shackled to.

"Arthur." He acknowledged the man who had come to visit him. He had spent the past two days in the confined room alone with no one except himself to talk to. He still hurt from the shooting and was lucky that Annie Walker had missed his spine and organs with the low calibre bullet, hitting only delicate tissue. After having the wound cleaned and stitched up by a former army medic, he was chained down to this metal seat. His father was his only visitor so far.

Arthur folded his arms as he approached him. "You know, you're damn lucky that you're a useful son of a bitch. Otherwise I'd have wasted no time in killing you back then."

"I'm sorry." The apology was somewhat genuine. He deserved to be dead. He didn't deserve the new life that his new identity afforded him. "I got the wrong end of the stick. I never meant to hurt Joan and I sure as hell didn't know she was pregnant. How is she, anyway?"

"None of your business. You know the arrangements. You leave my family out of this. You don't contact them and you don't contact any of my operatives – especially Annie Walker. You act like the ghost you're meant to be. Get it?"

Ben nodded. "I get it."

"The only person you speak to is me. You work for me and I put a roof over your head and keep you safe. In return we go back to our earlier arrangement where you work directly for me. Understand?"

"I do."

"Good." Arthur opened the manila folder and slid a picture across the metal table. "This is your first target."

Ben glanced down at the picture and then frowned at Arthur. "Henry Wilcox?"

Arthur nodded. "Henry Wilcox."

Ben asked the rather obvious question. "You want him dead?"

Arthur licked his lips. "Yep. I want that bastard dead." Arthur gestured for the stocky guard in the corner to come over and free Ben from his shackles. "Now remember. You'll be tracked at all times. You're nothing but a hired gun to me and you're very replaceable. Try anything or break the rules I've set and it won't be just Henry Wilcox who's six feet under."

Ben winced from his wound as he rose. "I promise you that I won't and I promise you that Henry Wilcox will be taken care of."

# # # # #

Annie could spend hours watching Auggie sleep. There had always been something special about that blind tech op from the day she made the transition from The Farm to Langley. He was that rare breed of honest, charming and handsome inside and out. Sometimes she'd find the lamest of excuses just to wonder into his office and hear him crack a joke or even spout some technical gibberish that she'd never understand. Now she needed no excuses. She had him.

"Annie…" He was beginning to stir. "Being blind results in heightened senses…I can feel you staring at me."

"Guilty as sin." She smiled and cuddled into him, placing her head onto his warm bare chest. "So, what do you want to do today?" Joan had granted the two the whole week off as a thank you. Coming from Joan Campbell, letting operatives having even one day off was a special case. They had been given seven in total.

"Well," Auggie's thumb rubbed circles on her back. "If it's all the same with you, I'd like a repeat of the last couple of days."

"Oh…" Annie muttered. "So, another day in bed then? I think I'm up to that."

"You better be," he smirked. "But maybe not a whole day. I guess I have to shower at some point."

"You do? You not afraid you're gonna get lonely in that big, empty and downright fancy shower you've got?" She bit down on her lip.

"Annie Walker…you dirty little minx."

"That's right…dirty. I guess I need to shower too."

"Well then…" Auggie gently nudged her off his chest, so he was free to swing his legs over the side of the bed and stand up. With ease, he found her and scooped her up into his arms. "To the shower we go," he proclaimed like a certain Toy Story character who wanted to go beyond infinity.

Annie put up no protest, smiling and wrapping her arms around his neck. Only now was she beginning to find out what happiness truly meant.

_THE END_

**Author's Note – Well that's Secrets finished folks but I'd just like to write a note to thank you from the bottom of my heart how deeply honoured I am for all the reads and all the reviews. The feedback has always been fantastic and I always look forward to your wonderful reviews. I'm so happy that you've all enjoyed it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Thank you so much.**

"**Secrets" was always intended to be a one-off story but I've decided recently that it'll be the first in a series of AU Season 4 fanfics. So I'd like to take the chance to tell you about my next fic in this series, "Family" that I hope you'll find as enjoyable as this one.**

""**Family" – As Annie and Auggie's relationship progresses, the two have to manage a long distance relationship when Annie is sent to Scotland to track down a rogue CIA agent. Meanwhile Joan returns to work as Arthur makes a big career decision that'll send shockwaves across the CIA and political landscape." (COMING 1****st**** SEPTEMBER 2013)**

**Thank you again. You guys rock,**

**Caitlin**


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